City Council: Energy Towers Blog

Joe Basco | MRT

Published 3:51 am, Tuesday, June 24, 2014

10:16 am - The council defers voting on the Energy Towers agreements until the July 8 City Council meeting. Lacy voted no to the deferral of the term sheet. The purchase and sale agreement and amendment deferrals were unaminous.

10:14 am - Hotchkiss asked why they want to come to Midland. Williams said it is a good opportunity.

10:13 am - Lacy said the incentives should be renegotiated because the design has changed.

10:10 am - At-large Councilman Scott Dufford said he has lacked confidence in the project, mostly because he has been detached from it. He says he is now confident after today's presentation. He asked to defer a vote until July 8 because two councilmen were absent today.

10:08 am - The office building will be 22 stories, the hotel building will be 20 stories.

10:07 am - Williams says construction of the two towers will not be concurrent. He said the market will decide which one gets built first.

10:06 am - Williams says Turner Construction, the contractor for Energy Towers, is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, contractor in the world.

10:01 am - District 3 Councilwoman Sharla Hotchkiss asks about parking during construction. Williams says they have done projects like this before even without street closures.

9:58 am - Lacy asks if the project will proceed if the incentives are gone. Williams says it is up to negotiation, but wants the design to be set in stone.

9:57 am - Council and Williams are discussing how more tenants could sign up if construction starts.

9:55 am - Williams says demolition plans are done. He said he can start demolition immediately.

9:55 am - Mayor Jerry Morales says he has seen three redesigns in magazines three different times. He thanked Williams for presenting the current design to council.

9:53 am - Williams says he wants public input by starting a committee with community members.

9:49 am - District 4 Councilman J.Ross Lacy asks Moiarty if the incentive package should stay the same now that the design has changed. Moiarty did not answer yes or no.

9:46 am - One slide reveals the parking garage, now two levels, will be privately owned.

9:43 am - They are targeting 276 hotel rooms.

9:42 am - Moiarty is now showing the underground theater and parking garage.

9:39 am: Dan Moiarty of Edmonds International is going through the two towers redesign. On the ground, the east side has a hotel drop off and exhibit hall, the west side has an office drop off and retail space.

9:38 am - Williams says they joined the project two months ago.

9:35 am - We can get this project done, if given the opportunity, Williams says.

9:34 am - Williams says it is important to set precedence for developing downtown Midland.

9:33 am: Williams - "Nothing has slowed down."

9:31 am: Williams says he apologizes for the recent silence regarding the project for the last six weeks.

9:29 am: Greg Williams of World Class Capital is next on the podium. He says the company is a long term investor.

9:27 am: Brown - "I ask for your vote today."

9:26 a.m.: Brown says the project is now $300 million.

9:25 am: Scooter Brown of ERP is speaking before the council. He is saying no one has ever stepped up to present a significant downtown project. He said ERP is securing tenants, including discussions between two hotel companies. He is reminding council that ERP is not asking for an extension of the September due dilligence deadline.

9:20 am: Council is back in session.

9:05 am: We are here at the City Hall Council Chambers. Two council members are absent today: District 1 Councilman Jeff Sparks and At-large Councilman Spencer Robnett. The council immediately went to executive session.

Live coverage of the city council's special session concerning the Energy Towers project will begin shortly. Stay tuned throughout the morning for breaking news.